Okay so I try to listen to everything, especially if local and let me not jump ahead of myself but…I’ll just get underway with my review. Arity is a Progressive Metal group formed out of West Covina, California. The band features a female vocalist/guitarist, Nicole Macias, brothers Anthony and Albert Burrola on guitars as well, Karthik Suresh on bass and Marco Morselli on drums. The five-piece have been making a name for themselves all over the Los Angeles area and have sparked up quite the buzz. As of last year, the group released an EP titled Physics Fall Apart.
The release begins with the track “I Want to Know Your Mind.” Nicole’s voice already begins to to sound a bit out of place and unappealing right from the start and at times makes you wonder if you should continue listening. With the track already not at a good start, I continued to listen onward through the release. With tracks like “Nights Alone” and “Secrets” within the middle of the EP, the tracks seemed a bit mundane and repetitive and almost even blended together it felt. Musically, the band is very tight and quite precise with a few flaws but had strong moments like with the track “Twisted” standing out but they seem to need to find a unique sound and hold onto those strong points. Nicole does add some screechy, almost shrill screams on certain moments which seemed out of place and unpleasant at moments but reminiscent of old releases by Dismal Euphony or Theatre Des Vampires when strong.
The guitar work was one of the most prominent points of the EP. Many leads and exchanges with great tempo patterns were very refreshing in this release. It is true the group has three guitarists within the band including Nicole but it sounds like two is enough on the release. I never understood the point of three guitarists myself but whatever works and in some bands it does but I do not feel it is needed in this instance with a third guitar not even standing out and if it had stood out, it would end up overpowering all the other instruments. The drum work is exceptional on the EP with nice fills and patterns that add their own flourishes and flavor without being too overpowering or unnecessary.
All in all, this release was not the best nor the worst I have heard. I believe if Nicole took time to perfect her scream and choose when to use it and when not to as well as work on her singing, she could be a strong and powerful vocalist. This band has all the power to possibly make it out there but they still need work. I never like giving a bad review without making it more like positive criticism so in hopes the band may use my words and work harder to strive. With those few things to work on, Arity may be the next big thing.
PROS:
- Great tempo and time changes
- Very strong guitar work and leads
- Exceptional drumming
- When a part was strong, it really was strong and powerful
CONS:
- Vocals (both singing and screams) seemed to need some work including tones and range
- Screams felt out of place
- A bit dull and bland on certain areas
- Repetitive at parts and drawn out
- Not that unique, didn’t stand out much
MY VOTE:
1.5/5.0
That Nicole Macias that you criticize so openly is the one who wrote the “strongest track”, while the guys wrote the song structure to the others. She wrote it 6 or 7 years ago. If anything, I think she is a strong point to the band, and you guys must have a hard time accepting something new and experimental. Here is her performing it solo and acoustic for Arity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agLg1348HjM and here are a couple performances of her old bands playing this song 5 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=619p4vUuMZ4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzvm3Usafhg
We do not have a problem accepting anything, this is our view on the release. It wasn’t that great and as a media outlet, we are entitled to our views. We kindly wrote this review as more of constructive criticism while one of our other writers really wanted to take a truthful but often cruel approach so you don’t have to like our review but it’s our view and personally, none of us here are fans of the band so we wrote this with an open mind going into it.